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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Do you like the Iris? I love Irises. What follows has absolutely nothing to do with them. I just thought I'd give you a little pretty, before you read my sob story that was my day yesterday. Hey, stay hopeful. Get to the end. There were some bright spots.

Jim did a LOT of stuff this weekend. Just not the dishes. I mean, really, to defend him, he does the after-dinner dishes at least two, sometimes more, times a week while I go retreat in our bedroom.

I had a DAY, yesterday, I tell you, and I didn't get those bad boys done either. I avoided them like the procrastination-pro I am, when it comes to unpleasant things.

Here's how that day went down...

I woke up, tired but grateful, happy, but certain deep down that the day was going to bring something... crazy. Sometimes we mothers just know which side those kids are going to wake up on, right?

I read and started my day quietly, coffee in hand. Then, we were off...

Lily woke up with one of the grossest diapers ever.

Grace and Patie had a "situation" before their day had even really begun. And while I'd like to say I handled that situation with Patience and Grace with patience and grace... well, I didn't.

Everyone was a special brand of owly.

The kitchen was dirty. But, we've discussed that. I didn't want to deal with it.

The door to the deep freeze in the basement had been left open...since the day before. I called and asked Jim if there was a reason, and he said no, but that he'd let the girls get something out of it the day before and they didn't shut it. Our meat and stuff was frozen...less than before.

Over the weekend, one pug managed to cover my entire main floor carpet with muddy prints- long story. No one's fault. There was even mud on the walls in places. Agh!

OK. I was just so not into the day. Rather than deal with it, and the mounds of laundry, my unpacked suitcase and the aftermath of the "stuff bomb" that had gone off in the house... I decided we should just go out and pretend like none of it existed. Spontaneity never felt so good. I wished I had a better excuse than "I just didn't want to do all that stuff I needed to do...", but, I was cool with it. I quick called a friend- I remember all of this happened by 8:06, because that's when I called her. She was game. A play date for 9:30 was set.

Oh, but then-

Over the weekend, some ants found their way inside our house- it rained a lot, our crib looked dry. They liked what was shakin' here, and brought back their friends. All 7000 of them. AGH! Ants again???? They were EVERYWHERE. And we were out of ant stuff.

I changed H-Man's diaper. He was down to his last 2.

Ant Stuff and diapers? Hallelujah! I had a reason to get out!

While I was at the park, I relayed all the previous events of the morning to Kimberly, who said she was amazed at how well I handled everything, in light of how I said I was so stressed out, but seemed to be happy. So, then, to make sure she knew I was no Mother Theresa, I let her peek in this little window of my morning... I was so overloaded I told the girls, "You may not speak to mommy until your breakfast is on the table! Mommy needs to think!" I actually said that! They complied. Seriously, I said it! She also reminded me how convenient it is to have your own steam cleaner... it dawned on me that I should probably, finally, just get one instead of renting one.

So, the next stop was Target: The list- Ant Stuff, Steam Cleaner, Diapers and Milk, danced through my head as we shopped.

I went home and let the girls watch the rest of The Street while I threw this bad boy together. One of the best purchases I ever made for our home, I think. It was amazing.

I ended up cleaning the whole main area. We ate lunch late...like, 2 instead of 12:30- and the girls were fine with that, all so I could keep them up a little later for their naps, so they could sleep almost until Daddy came home! It worked great. While they ate and then cleaned up their lunch dishes- well, while they threw their lunch dishes on to the dish mountain that was my sink, I hurriedly unpacked my bags and got things in order, so I could relax while they slept- relax in a relatively picked up house, that is.

I got all but one thing put away, and things were looking gloriously clean, and the carpets looked great- and then I got an unexpected call from a wonderful friend, and was blessed, blessed to talk to her. It was great. Naps were then pushed back even farther...but the girls took things in stride. They ended up taking them at 4, instead of 2... happily. YES! They made it! And they chilled in quiet time until my man got home- thank you.

Have I told you lately, I love catchin' up on life with you? I missed ya'll while I was out. Can't wait to get back in touch with you, asap.

14 comments:

Those first days after being away are so crazy!!! I bet you'll love your steam cleaner, those things are awesome. And I hope you get rid of the ants, they are no fun at all . . . and I hope today goes smoothly and quietly for you!

I love you Megan, you are so funny, so candid. We all have the "dont talk to Mommy moments". It happens. I think you are an awesome mom! And this post is great, one that will make you giggle for years to come.

You just reminded me that today I am setting a timer to take "the twins" out to pee- Jack and Charlie. I have been cleaning up pee spots in doubles around this house for a week or two now! It's like they keep marking their territory competitively with one another... the train table, the oriental, the upstairs... UGH. And Jack is not yet done with taking his diaper off while he sleeps and hosing down his whole room. THIS, my sweet friend, is why I asked for advice! But your small goals thing has centered me, seriously. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed I think of that song by Alabama "I'm in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush till life's no fun... all I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why..." :)

Everything goes to pot when Mama's gone, doesn't it?! We also had a diaper fiasco. Which got Lexi's swing covered in, well, you know, which means I had to wash it and hang dry, and the swing wasnt available for her nap. Commence screaming overtired Lexi for 45 minutes. (poor baby!) Ended up putting her in it anyway, so she took a cold, wet nap. Sigh. :-( (wasnt sure which option was worse) So I was with you on your DAY.

Okay - "the special kind of owly" line pretty much was the funniest thing I've read in a long time. I just think that is all kinds of hilarious.

I have so been in that place, and way too often.

Enjoy those fluffy carpets!

I am blessed beyond measure, during this point in my life, because Daniel comes home every day BEFORE rest time is over. (making up for 4 years of recruiting??) It makes my life... really. I am going to be very sad when he deploys.

My goodness, what a day!! It sounds like you handled it with ease and class though. Holy cow, I hope I am as good of a mom as you! And the girls even napped, how wonderful.

Hope you are doing well as you relax and ease your way back into reality. Coming home from a wonderful trip like the one you've had is exhausting!!! :)

PS- Thanks for the comment about the envelopes. We have the system pretty well plotted out and come August 1, we are taking it for a test drive. It is going to be an interesting balancing act the first few months while we get things situated, but we are both really excited to get our spending under control and really take some power over our money! I will do an update on my blog on how we are doing. :)